And the paper goes there… “Rep. Anthony Weiner’s stunning wife had a front-row seat to the mother of all sex scandals — she served in the Clinton White House during Monicagate. And now, 34-year-old Huma Abedin has to deal with her hubby’s own public shame, as he tries to explain away his connection to a lewd Twitter picture. Weiner said yesterday his beautiful spouse — a longtime aide to now-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton — doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. ‘She’s seen an awful lot,’ Weiner told MSNBC. ‘But I won’t mind telling you that even for someone that went through the Clinton years, this has been a befuddling experience.’”

The Daily News’ Daly makes this point: “Of course, if Weiner did go to the FBI or the Capitol Police, he would be taking a chance if he told anything but the full truth. Lying to the feds is a crime, as Martha Stewart could attest.”

“Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is moving to insulate Republicans on the politically thorny Medicare reform issue by insisting that it be included in any bipartisan agreement to raise the debt ceiling,” Roll Call reports.

“House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Wednesday that he wants to strike a deal on the nation’s debt limit over the next month,” The Hill reports. But another Hill story adds, “Some GOP no’s on ‘pledge’ could complicate debt talks.”